Policeman dies amid flooding chaos

20 November 2009 08:07am

It was the wettest day ever - and a family were left mourning a "heroic" policeman while thousands of others were left counting the cost.

Pc Bill Barker was directing motorists away from Northside bridge in Workington, Cumbria, when it collapsed and he disappeared into the swollen waters of the River Derwent at about 4.40am on Friday.

The "Biblical" downpour was the highest level of rainfall measured in England since records began, forecasters said, with 314mm - more than foot of rain - falling in 24 hours.

The grim record brought chaos as floods swept away bridges, forced hundreds of people from their homes and closed roads.

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Julian Mayes, a forecaster with MeteoGroup UK, the weather division of the Press Association, described it as a "historical event".

Pc Barker would have celebrated his 45th birthday on Saturday. The officer, from Egremont, served with Cumbria Police for 25 years and leaves a wife, Hazel, and four children. His body was found on a beach in nearby Allonby.

A rescue operation is continuing in Cockermouth - the town worst hit by the flooding - with people being winched to safety. Both rivers that run through the town burst their banks, blocking roads and forcing more than 200 people to leave their homes.

Four bridges collapsed in the county and schools were used as makeshift community centres after the deluge struck.

Mr Mayes said the storm was of "Biblical proportions", adding: "The fact that there's eight feet of water in some places is not that surprising. Primarily, it's the sheer quantity in the last 36 hours that has caused the flooding. But in November the ground is saturated. The rain can't get into the soil, it just runs off. That means rivers rise very quickly and suddenly."

The Queen said she was "deeply concerned and saddened by the dreadful flooding across Britain" in a message to Lord Lieutenants in areas affected by the natural disaster.

© The Press Association